ConvertXtoDVD producing a jittery DVD from the MCE captures.

[Dragonfly2337]

MCE is set to the highest capture setting.
Using the Hamppauge WinTV-PVR-500MCE dual tuner card.
Anyone having this problem?
I have tried Beyond TV and ConvertXtoDVD produces the same results.
I tried the burning engine in Beyond TV no problems but the conversion/shrinking process takes a really long time.

Dell E510
Sound Blaster Audigy 2Z
1Gig DDR
2 Western Digital 400G HD
P4 HT 3.0

[jagabo]

I don't know ConvertXtoDVD but be sure to burn as interlaced, top field first.

[Dragonfly2337]

I used to love ConvertXtoDVD but I am currently running into problems with it producing jittery playback from the burned DVDs that it made from either MCE captures and Beyond TV captures.

I would like to know if there is some other software out there that follows the principle of K.I.S.S.
(Keep It Simple Stupid). Fast and able to keep the size to a predefined size so I would not have to use another program to shrink it down to fit one single layer DVD.

TMPGEnc DVD Author produces a non-jittery DVD from the Beyond TV captures but it does not compress/shrink the DVD so I have to use another program to do that and that takes time and computer resources.

Thank You.

I would like to steer away from using another program to shrink the DVD, an all in one like ConvertXtoDVD is what I am looking for to take mpeg/mpg and MCE files to DVD with a simple menu.
When I do a seach I can find some that do this but has anyone had any experience with them?

[Dragonfly2337]

In investigating another problem I ran into this article:
Since the system that I have been working on has it installed I will give it a try and see if this fixes my jittery effect in ConvertXtoDVD.


The user notices that, following the installation of Windows Media Player 11, the ShowSqueeze and/or SmartChapter functions of Beyond TV no longer work.
ARTICLE:

Windows Media Player 11 modifies audio and video decoding to such an extent that it interferes with Beyond TV's attempts to perform ShowSqueeze and/or SmartChapter functions. Development is currently investigating the cause of these malfunctions to devise a fix for this problem; however, there currently exists no solution. Until a fix is available, the following workaround is provided.

Windows Media Player 11, and its runtime options, must be uninstalled.

To uninstall Windows Media Player 11:
Go to CONTROL PANEL --> ADD OR REMOVE PROGRAMS.
Select the "Windows Media Format 11 Runtime" item and click "Remove." The control panel will guide you through the uninstallation process. When finished uninstalling this component,
Select the "Windows Media Player 11" item and click "Remove." The control panel will guide you through the uninstallation process. When finished uninstalling this component, reboot the computer.
When Beyond TV next loads, it should once again be able to perform both ShowSqueeze and SmartSkip operations. If uninstalling Windows Media Player 11 as above does not solve the problem, use System Restore to restore Windows to the state it was in before Windows Media Player 11 was installed:
Start System Restore (START BUTTON --> ALL PROGRAMS --> ACCESSORIES --> SYSTEM TOOLS --> SYSTEM RESTORE).
Select "Restore my computer to an earlier time" and hit NEXT.
Select the "Installed Windows Media Player 11" item and hit NEXT.
Follow the step-by-step guide that System Restore provides to restore the system to the state it was in before Windows Media Player 11 was installed.
When System Restore finishes, reboot the computer.
When Beyond TV next loads, it should once again be able to perform both ShowSqueeze and SmartSkip operations.

This knowledge base article will be updated as more information on this topic is discovered.

[Dragonfly2337]

Anyone have any luck with Sonic PrimeTime, AVS Video Tools, Nero Vision, Cucusoft or am I looking for something different then these to replace ConvertxtoDVD if the above does not work.

[lacywest]

Good Stuff

[mwkurt]

Try SVCD2DVD. Simple very well thought out program to put DIVX, MPEG, etc onto DVD.
Mark

[FulciLives]

The problem is simple ... ConvertXtoDVD is not what you should be using.

You obviouisly have no clue as to setting the bitrate because if you set the bitrate properly with the initial capture then you won't have to re-encode later on which really just degrades the image quality (unless perhaps you capture at 15,000kbps CBR because you want to re-encode to gain the benefit of multipass VBR or video/audio filtering).

You need to set the proper bitrate up-front so you don't have to re-encode.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Here is a link to a bitrate calculator

[Dragonfly2337]

When one is given only the option of making a fair, good, better, or best setting in Windows Media Center and Beyond TV and those still produce a jittery picture with ConvertXtoDVD there is not much that I can do about it without using a lot of time either re-encoding or remuxing that file to make a video file that ConvertXtoDVD will not make jittery spending that much time is not something that I want to do. If ConvertXtoDVD is not what I should be using what should I be using?

[jagabo]

If your DVDs are shaking back and forth 30 times a second you are burning with the wrong field order. This has nothing to do with the quality of the caps. You should capture at 720x480 and burn as interlaced, top field first.

If ConvertXtoDVD doesn't let you specify field order you'll have to try a different DVD authoring program. I use Ulead DVD Movie Factory. Never a problem with MPEG files from my PVR-250.

Other DVD authoring software:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools?s=2#2

It doesn't much matter which program you use to capture from the PVR-250 (assuming obviously that the program can capture from the card at all). They will all give the same quality (with similar settings). The card is performing the conversion to MPEG. All the capture software is doing is putting it in a file and displaying it so you can see what you're capturing.

[Dragonfly2337]

While trying to get ConvertXtoDVD to work with DVR-MS files I finally found a video clip that represented what I am trying to say and was able to get a snap-shot of it. Other programs that I have tried do not do this and even when I use the other programs to change the DVR-MS file into a workable mpeg/mpg file ConvertXtoDVD still does this. Take a look at the scroling text at the bottom of the Fox news broadcast that's what happens to the video whenever there is any movement. Tried only burning 1hr segment of Fox news but it still does it.

[jagabo]

You have normal interlaced video (although your sample image has been improperly resized). As I indicated earlier, burn it to DVD as interlaced and top field first. Do not crop or resize the frame. It will look exactly the same as the original broadcast when you watch on TV.

If ConvertXToDVD doesn't let you specify those parameters you will have to use some other DVD authoring software.

[Dragonfly2337]

Looks like I will need to use a program that either automatically does interlaced and top field first or maybe CxD if they include this in CxD in the future. I tried a program to make the change to top field first but in could not figure out the video file information to make a change so it would not let be change this before having CxD use the file. Nuts, I like CxD so much.
So this must be the reason why a bitorrent Xvid file of HDTV can be used in CxD but not my DVR-MS or mpeg/mpg will not work properly.
Thank you for the information.

[FulciLives]

If your capture is a MPEG-2 file then you need to learn to use the following:

1.) DGMPGDec aka DGIndex
2.) AviSynth
3.) HCenc
4.) ffmpegGUI
5.) A DVD Authoring program (many choices exist but DVDauthorGUI is popular and free)
6.) ImgBurn

All of that is freeware.

A very short work flow example:

1.) Run the captured MPEG-2 file through DGIndex and save to a project file. This creates a D2V file and demuxes the audio.
2.) The audio is probably MP2 format so convert that to AC-3 using ffmpegGUI
3.) Create an AviSynth script for the video processing.
4.) Load the AviSynth script into HCenc in order to get a MPEG-2 DVD spec file of the size you need

Then you use a DVD Authoring program (such as TMPGEnc DVD Author or DVDauthorGUI etc.) to put it all together.

Burn to a DVD-R using ImgBurn.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Dragonfly2337]

Ever heard of the K.I.S.S. principle? Not the time consuming principle. That's one thing I don't have a lot of (time). I'll stick with using MCE to burn my TV-series/shows to take on the road. Wanted to use ConvertXtoDVD but until it works correctly with DVR-MS files or Beyond TV recorded mpeg files I'll just use MCE.

[jagabo]

Ulead DVD Movie Factory works well with Hauppauge PVR caps.

[FulciLives]

Ulead DVD Movie Factory works well with Hauppauge PVR caps.

Half of the problem is that he wants to reduce the size of the original captures.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[InXess]

Analyze the file you get from the PVR, see what's different (like field order etc.) try using restream to make it compliant then import the result in ConvertXtoDVD, convert it and test.

[Dragonfly2337]

Half or more of my problem is trying to reduce the file size fast and efficiently to watch on a 27" TV. From a differnt forum JJ gave me this information.
"Check this site: http://www.100fps.com/ There is numerous ways to de-interlace. None is perfect.
Other programs might leave that movie to interlaced; then you can't see those effects so easily."
I checked that site out and it really goes into great detail and explains what is going on.

[jagabo]

Your source (off air or cable) is interlaced. Your destination, SDTV via DVD, is interlaced. You do not want to deinterlace. All you have to do is recompress as interlaced, and burn as interlaced with the right field order.

[Dragonfly2337]

How do I go about recompressing as interlaced, and burn as interlaced with the right field order. I looked into restream but I would have to demultiplex my audio & video in order for the program to accept the video file to work with it.

[jagabo]

If you want an integrated solution you can use a program like Ulead DVD Movie Factory. But the integrated solutions generally don't give the best output. They do a lot of things moderately well. They're not the best at anything.

Less integrated, and potentially higher quality, would be to use a stand alone MPEG encoder and and follow that with a DVD authoring/burning package.

Fulcilives gave a list of free tools that can perform the job. Another option is TMPGEnc Plus (free trial) coupled with their DVD authoring package, DVD Movie Factory, or some other DVD authoring/burning software. TMPGEnc Plus can read the MPEG files produced by the PVR-350 and recompress them. But it's one of the slowest MPEG encoders.

Another option for recompression is CCE (free trial). It's much faster than TMPGEnc Plus and delivers, arguably, better quality, but it can't read MPEG files directly. You'll have to use AVISynth or VirtualDubMPEG2 or VirtualDubMod as a frameserver (decompress the MPEG video and feed the frames one by one to CCE). All three of those tools are free and worth learning if you are going to do a lot of video work.

There are many guides in the guide section describing the use of these tools and others to perform the job(s) at hand.

FYI:

NTSC video is broadcast as a series of fields. You never see an entire frame. You see 60 fields per second. Each field consists of half the frame, every other scanline of the full picture. Each field can be from a different point in time or a different picture. The broadcast alternates between "top" and "bottom" fields (some programs refer to them as even/odd, A/B, etc), complimentary scanlines of the entire frame. When captured by a computer sequential pairs of fields are combined into frames for storage. The capture device can start with a top field then add the next (bottom) field creating a top-field-first file, or it can start with a bottom field then add the next (top) field creating a bottom-field-first file.

The tools you use to manipulate the video must be aware of the fact that the video contains interlaced frames. That is so it can handle the fields as two separate pictures. This prevents the two fields from interfering or mixing with each other. When you create a DVD with interlaced video the DVD player needs to know the field order so that it can send the fields to the TV in the correct order, the order they were originally broadcast.

[Dragonfly2337]

[quote="jagabo"]If you want an integrated solution you can use a program like Ulead DVD Movie Factory. But the integrated solutions generally don't give the best output. They do a lot of things moderately well. They're not the best at anything.

Less integrated, and potentially higher quality, would be to use a stand alone MPEG encoder and and follow that with a DVD authoring/burning package.

I agree and have I have done what you mentioned later on in your reply with frameserving and CCE back in the days when there was no one click DVD copy solution and one had to use multiple programs to get to the final product. I still use CCE today with my old pinacle card that will only let me capture in AVI.

For now it looks like I am going to let the one click DVR-MS to DVD solution rest and just use what is built into MCE cannot get as many shows like one can with CxD onto a DVD but it works with little interaction on my part.

Thanks for the info.

[jagabo]

For now it looks like I am going to let the one click DVR-MS to DVD solution rest and just use what is built into MCE cannot get as many shows like one can with CxD onto a DVD but it works with little interaction on my part.

Why don't you just capture with a lower bitrate?

[Dragonfly2337]

When I am at home I watch TV on a 54" Projection TV and recording at a lower bitrate does not make for a great picture but I have come to the same conclusion that I will need to do this in order to get something I want. To burn DVD's and take them on the road. I wanted everything and thought that it was possible but I will have to prioritize what I really want to do and do what's more important to me right now and wait until things catch-up to what I want to do. Darn It!

[jagabo]

Capturing at a higher bitrate then reencoding to a lower bitrate isn't likely to get you better quality than simply capturing at the lower bitrate to start with. The exception would be if you capture at 15,000 kbps and inverse telecine.

[Dragonfly2337]

Here's what I wanted to do. I wanted to record a TV show over land line cable with either MCE or Beyond TV in as high a quality as I can so I can watch it on my 54" projection TV without much loss in quality then I wanted to cram as much video onto a DVD with CxD so I could take it on the go, driving, hotel rooms, and etc. I have put 8 hours of video on a DVD with CxD and it looked rather good (acceptable) on a 27" screen for the amount of video I sqweezed onto a DVD. Then I ran into the top-field first/interlaced problem that CxD has a problem with and had to find another program like CxD that would work. Unfortunately there is no other that works with the same ease and comes at all close to being able to make a DVD with that much video on it without giving up to begin with and saying "you have to much video please select fewer files" or "your disc does not have enough room please select fewer files" to "transcoding will take some time please wait" "this could take a couple of hours" meaning a very very long time not like the champ CxD. So what I have come up with it to use MCE and have that record my shows at a better mode there is "fair, good, better, & best" to choose from and it's somewhat acceptable to watch on a 54" projection TV and then I can get about 2 hours of material onto a DVD with MCE's built in Sonic recorder by just clicking create a DVD but nothing like CxD and the 8 hours that I put on it. So I will have to have 4 DVD's rather then 1 DVD to worry about both making and taking on the road. I wanted a win/win and had CxD been able to do that I would have had it, record at a higher quality at home for the projection TV and still be able to shrink with ease all those shows into one acceptable to watch on a 27" TV on the road. So I have come to a even/even ground outcome that will work until something else or upgraded/updated to do the win/win situation that I am after.

[FulciLives]

One suggestion I have is to use the program "autoGK" which is a very simple ONE-CLICK type program (it has settings but is easy-to-use) that will create MPEG-4 (DivX or XviD) video files.

Basically you just select your input (it works with MPEG files such as your captures) and set a few settings and BINGO you have a single AVI file in XviD or DivX format.

You can even "batch convert" meaning you can pick several different inputs at once then start it ... leave it alone (like overnight or when at work) and it will all be done when you come back.

Right now Philips has a whole line of portable DVD players that have very good MPEG-4 (DivX and XviD) support.

Here is the Philips website showcasing their portable DVD players: CLICK HERE

Here is a link to the Philips PET724/37 at BEST BUY: CLICK HERE

The Philips PET724/37 is a portable DVD player with a 7" 16x9 WS TFT-LCD screen and features composite video output and stereo audio output. Thus you can put a lot of content on a DVD-R or DVD-RW when using MPEG-4 and use this little portable DVD player when on the go ... use the screen ... or hook it up to a TV in a Hotel or Motel etc.

Amazingly this little portable wonder is only $153.99 US Dollars.

Tis a thought.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
The Philips PET724/37 can also be made region free and will do PAL to NTSC.

*** EDIT ***
I wanted to add that with this "system" you could capture at the absolute best quality for home viewing then compress to MPEG-4 for "on-the-go". I think you will find that "autoGK" is easy and fast. If I were in your shoes (need to travel alot and want to take video with me) this is what I would do.

[Dragonfly2337]

Thank you very much for that information I will take a look into it.